Ready to go abroadWorkshop for scholarship holders of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation
What is needed to be a good ambassador abroad? Twenty scholarship holders of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation tried to find answers to this and other questions related to their stay abroad.
In autumn 2014, a new three year project called ‘TOP’-Talents East Wuerttemberg Plus to improve partnerships between selected universities was launched at Aalen University, the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Heidenheim, the University of Design Schwaebisch Gmuend and the University of Education Schwaebisch Gmuend. The project is part of the “Baden-Württemberg Scholarship for students - BWS plus”, a program of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation. The main activities include the preparation of scholarship holders on the role of an ambassador of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation, their university, and the region East Württemberg.
The East Württemberg workshop for scholarship holders of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation, which took place at the University of Design in Schwaebisch Gmuend, prepared the 20 German students of the four participating universities for their stay abroad in the coming winter or summer semester. The participation of eight foreign scholarship students who currently study at one of the universities in East Württemberg was a great enrichment.
During the workshop they were able to share their intercultural experiences with their German fellow students and tell them how to prepare themselves for their role as ambassador. Questions like: „What is needed to be a good ambassador abroad?”, “What should I know about the region, the university and Germany in general before I go abroad?” or “Which stereotype questions should I be prepared for?” were dealt with in the form of a workshop. In addition, the scholars learned interesting facts about the region East Württemberg as well as the Baden-Württemberg Foundation and its programs in lectures.
Brigitte Ilg, Head of the International Office of the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Heidenheim, designed an intercultural seminar for the target group in which she gave the scholarship holders tips on how they could make intercultural contacts and how to handle situations abroad successfully.
About the Baden-Württemberg Scholarship:
The Baden-Württemberg Scholarship promotes the international exchange of qualified students and young professionals. Since 2001, more than 19,000 young people from Baden-Wuerttemberg were able to gain experience abroad and respectively young people from abroad were able to spend some time in Baden-Wuerttemberg. In the current scholarship year 2015/2016 more than 1,000 young people will receive a Baden- Württemberg Scholarship. www.bw-stipendium.de
The program Baden-Württemberg Scholarship for Students - BWS plus:
With the BWS plus program the Baden-Württemberg Foundation supports innovative collaborations of universities with other international institutions. The program endowed with an annual 800,000 € was announced in 2011 for the first time and meanwhile supports more than 40 BWS-plus projects at universities of Baden-Württemberg. For further information please visit: www.bw-stipendium.de/studierende/bws-fuer-studierende/bws-plus
Foundation Profile:
The Baden-Württemberg Foundation is committed to supporting a vibrant and livable Baden-Württemberg. It paves the way for cutting-edge research, diverse educational activity, and responsible handling of our fellow human beings. The Baden-Württemberg Foundation is one of the major operational foundations in Germany. It is the only one that invests exclusively and non-partisan in the future of Baden-Württemberg – and thus in the future of its citizens.